New Year, New Decade, New Resolve

It’s easy to get caught up in the daily chaos of raising children. And honestly, that can be a good thing sometimes. When we had our first baby, the pediatrician told us, “Don’t worry about setting habits right now. You are in survival mode—just do what it takes to get through the day.”
It might sound like weird advice, but it was some of the best parenting advice I ever received. It freed us to focus on just helping our child the best way we knew how, minute by minute and hour by hour. If you have a newborn in your house or are dealing with another major change or challenge, I encourage you to lean on God’s strength to love your child as best you can today. He will carry you.

4 Tips for Helping Your Kids Adjust to Change

Change is difficult. Especially if you’re a kid. Whether it’s relocating to a different school, moving across state lines, or just the natural changes that come with growing up—transitions can be hard. 

By the 8th grade, I had already attended 11 different schools, lived in four states, and I can’t tell you how many houses I called home. Change was the norm for me growing up, but now that I’m a parent, I’ve been processing through what it takes to help my children transition well. Change isn’t all bad. It can even be great for your family and for the health of your children if done with intentionality. 

3 Questions to Shape Better Dinner Conversations

I have four sons who range from ages fifteen down to three years old, so dinner table conversations can go in many different directions in our house (not to mention that boys—and men—are not always eager to communicate their deepest dreams and ambitions!). 

But I’m working on finding better questions that will help shape these conversations, both at dinnertime and other times throughout the week. I want to suggest three questions that might help you engage with your kids over the table and “while you walk in the way" (see Deuteronomy 6:7).

How Reading Aloud Makes You A Better Leader—and a Better Dad

Plus 17 ideas for books to read to your children

Baby in the House? How to Go from Survival Mode to Strategic Dad

When we talk about parenting infants, it’s all about survival mode. Being strategic is too much to ask, right?

There’s no denying that the first few days or weeks feel like you’re just hanging on. If we just make it through the sleepless nights, the endless diapers, and the incessant feedings, then we can get on to the business of raising our son or daughter, or so the logic goes. But that logic instills a destination mentality to our parenting practices ...

3 Ways to Serve Your Family Without Adding More to Your Plate

Sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough hours in a day. After a long day at work or a stressful day corralling the kids, it can be difficult to muster enough emotional energy to serve those we love.

But what if you were able to serve those closest to you more effectively without adding anything to your calendar? What if all that was needed wasn’t more time, but simply a change in perspective?